Movies That Show Emotional Intelligence

Recent developments in psychology have focused heavily on what makes us feel good, or happier. While this is important to look into for mental health reasons, it’s also interesting to note that we sometimes enjoy things for their own sake, not because of how they make us feel.

This concept has been labeled “hedonic tone” and studies show that hedonic tone can actually influence our emotional intelligence.

So, how do you use emotion to your advantage? By recognizing and understanding your emotions so you know what causes them and how to better regulate them!

Movies are a great way to learn about emotional regulation. They’re an easy way to understand difficult concepts, and there are many movies out there with strong themes that speak about emotional control. Here are some suggestions for those looking to improve their emotional literacy.

Topic and sub-topic: How to Regulate Your Emotions

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Movie: The Wizard Of Oz (1983)

The main plot of The Wizard of Oz revolves around Dorothy being lured away from her home by the villainous tornado. She ends up traveling with three other characters who help her return home. Along the way she encounters various challenges and tests of courage, strength, and resilience.

Dorothy learns several valuable lessons during the movie, but one of the most significant ones for people watching now comes at the end when she is reunited with her family.

The Incredibles

movies that show emotional intelligence

In The Incredibles, we are given an example of emotional intelligence in action. This movie follows the exploits of Frozone (a snowman who can freeze anything), his wife, Violet, and their three children as they try to bring down the villainess known as Syndrome.

The main character traits that make up emotional intelligence are compassion, empathy, self-awareness, and motivation. Compassion is shown when characters show sympathy for others, while empathy means being able to understand and relate to what other people go through. Self-awareness means knowing yourself well and how you interact with the world around you. And lastly, motivation refers to wanting to do something or someone else wants you to do something, so that you will perform your duties.

In this case, it’s not just about whether or not one person will work alongside another, but instead if everyone working together as a team is willing to put aside their personal differences to achieve a common goal. It also looks into whether or not each individual knows what role they play within the group, and if they feel like their contribution is important.

With all these qualities in place, it becomes clear that the Incredibles teach us about emotional intelligence. Not only does the audience get to see some of the characteristics in action, but the film also teaches them why those things matter.

The Matrix

movies that show emotional intelligence

In this movie, we are shown emotional intelligence in action as the main character experiences a major life change. He or she must learn to process and understand their emotions before they can achieve true happiness. This is an excellent example of this because the audience does not see the protagonist use his or her EI until well into the film.

The first time you watch this movie, pay attention to how quickly things get out of control for the protagonist. It takes them several scenes to realize something is wrong so it becomes another part of the movie that people may not like but cannot relate to.

There are many ways to interpret the movie depending on what parts appeal most to you as an individual. But one thing is clear, the protagonist did not possess very much emotional intelligence prior to the situation occurring.

They lacked understanding and regulation of their own feelings which caused problems later on. By watching this movie, you will know that having more self-awareness and knowledge of yourself and others is important.

The Martian

movies that show emotional intelligence

In this movie, there are two main characters that show emotional intelligence. One is an astronaut who has to deal with life on Mars and the other is his crew mate who he grows close to over time. Both characters exhibit strong emotions in various situations, which helps them come together as a team and supports each other when needed.

The character that shows the most strength of emotion is the commander of the mission. He is constantly shown showing feelings for others and understanding how they feel. This includes friends and family back home as well as colleagues on the space ship.

He also uses his emotions to motivate himself into doing things he puts effort into. For example, when he realizes that they will not make it back if something does not change, he becomes very determined to fix the problem.

This intensity can be seen as annoying at times but it is what makes him effective as a leader.

The Big Sick

movies that show emotional intelligence

In The Big Sick, Kumara (Zach Galifianakis) is in his first year at college when he meets Nia Varder (Kaling). They start dating and have fun together before she discovers that he has no idea what emotions are. She breaks up with him, but soon after they both realize they want to be together more than anything else in the world.

They reunite several months later and work through their issues. It is incredible how many lessons this movie teaches about emotional intelligence.

To begin with, Kumra learns that it’s important to recognize your own feelings. He was so focused on trying not to feel hurt or disappointed by her break-up that he didn’t even acknowledge his own feelings until much later. This made it very hard for him to understand why she broke up with him in the first place and put extra pressure on himself to change things if she wanted to get back together.

He also needed to learn how to identify his emotions. For example, when he would think of all the ways he had tried to show Nia how much he loved her, it would make him suddenly angry with herself. Why couldn’t she just believe him?

This movie reminds us that we are all going to lose people we love, and it will hurt like hell.

The Shape of Water

movies that show emotional intelligence

The most recent movie that really focused on emotional intelligence is The Shape of Water. This film was very unique in how it portrayed different characters with different levels of EI.

In the movie, Elisa – played by Sally Field – works at a water park as an animator for aquatic creatures. She has to deal with her co-workers and superiors who are not only difficult to work with but also make impossible demands due to their own poor leadership skills.

Her colleagues and superiors frequently use belittling language and criticisms towards each other, which makes it hard for Elisa to perform her job effectively. When she does try to speak up about this situation, no one listens to her.

This article will discuss some important traits of emotional intelligence and why they matter in the workplace. You will learn from these lessons what types of behaviors are needed to increase someone’s level of EI and whether or not the individual you work with has enough of them.

The Shawshank Redemption

movies that show emotional intelligence

In The Shawshank Redemption, we are given an example of emotional intelligence in action. This movie teaches us that being able to recognize and control your emotions is more important than having a lot of them.

Stanley "The Wolf" Williams is a prison guard who does not like his job. He feels he gets paid poorly to do a bad job and he becomes increasingly hostile towards both inmates and other guards.

One day he witnesses two men talking while walking down the corridor. One man shoots the other person and then himself. Stanley later finds out that this was because they had been arguing about money for some time.

After working together during the investigation into the shooting, Stan begins to feel guilty and it makes him unhappy. He knows that if he had done something differently, things would have turned out worse so he decides to help the police by giving a statement. As a result, he is granted early release from jail.

He returns home to find his wife has left him and his son doesn't want to see him anymore. It's clear that he hasn't spent much time parenting before so he tries hard but fails. Eventually, he leaves his family alone and lives as a loner.

Several years pass and Stan meets another inmate named Andy Dufner. They develop a friendship and when Andy is released, he invites Stan to come live with him and take care of his child.

What Women Want

movies that show emotional intelligence

A lot of people think that love is all about having crazy, passionate sex after eating dinner together ten times before. This perception of what women want comes from an older generation, when relationships focused more on marriage and having children.

In our society today, however, this way of thinking has been replaced by something different. You will find many couples who don’t engage in any kind of sexual activity apart from maybe kissing once or twice a week. They may even go several days without anything beyond kissing each other good night at bedtime.

But why wouldn’t they? Why would anyone need to have sex every day if it isn’t a requirement for maintaining a healthy relationship?

What I mean by emotional intimacy is a deeper connection than just having fun with each other. It goes beyond simple friendship. It is feeling loved and wanted, and knowing that you made your romantic partner feel those things.

They might not necessarily do everything they want to do, but they should try to show their significant other that they care about them as much as possible. And they should expect the same in return.

It’s also important to be able to recognize and acknowledge emotions that are being displayed by someone else. This could be a friend, family member, or lover that you're interacting with.

Take a look around you and see how others respond to and interact with those close to them.

The Graduate

movies that show emotional intelligence

One of the most powerful movies about emotional intelligence is The Graduate. In this movie, Benjamin (played by actor Dustin Hoffman) meets up with his past in California. He works as a sales manager for a grocery store and seems to have it all – career, girlfriend, and even a kid on the way. However, he is constantly distracted by memories of his ex-girlfriend, Marie.

Marie was once described as having an incredible smile that could light up the room. But after she finds out that he cheated on her, she leaves him and their child behind.

While working late one night, Benjamin receives a call from Marie asking if he would like to meet later that day at a restaurant. When he arrives, he does not see anyone except for her friend who invited them. After some small talk, Marie gets straight to business and asks why he left her and the baby without any money or clothes.

He replies by telling her how much he loved her and wanted to keep raising their son together, but she did not want that. At the end of the video, you can clearly see tears streaming down her face while listening to him speak truthfully. It is also very apparent that she has made no effort to connect with his family since walking away years earlier!

After leaving, she goes back home where she cries alone before going to sleep. In the morning, she picks up the phone to tell her mother what happened and make arrangements to bring the boy home.

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